Damn it. Kinda. Ok yes, damn it.

I will try to not turn this blog into "grumpy old man Scott's bitchin' porch" but it's election day, and well you know what is happening. Of course I'm grumpy. Now there are a couple of outcomes I forsee I'm going to number them so I don't lose my train of thought
Possible outcomes:
1. The bad gets worse, which tips the scales
2. The bad gets good, which then gets really bad.
3. The bad gets weird, after which is a tossup.

1. The Bad Gets Worse, which Tips the Scales:
Bush wins without any goofy electoral ties, or major scandals (election snafus, illegal vote tampering, etc). There is currently (11:46PM) a good chance of this. This outcome could lead to an even more repressive regime and most tragically, a restocking of several Supreme Court justices that could throw out Roe v. Wade, and generally run amok with civil liberties. Of course all of these things pale in comparison to the havoc we could unleash on the Arab/brown people world. But, if there is any silver lining, I believe it is this: Team Bush's wacked policies will leave an indelible stain on the whole conservative/neo-con camp that will be hard to erase (remember when liberal was a good word?). This could lead to a reversal of Republican power currently held in the legislative and executive branches of government. This reversal of fortunes for the Con/Neo-con movement is a long shot though, because after this election I don't really believe that the majority of Americans are using their brains to vote (and I don't say this merely because Bush won). The reasons (on both sides) for supporting a candidate were so lame and simplistic that it boggled the mind. Please people, as a country, can we do a little legwork to check out facts, especially ones spouted from campaign ads? Also, what was appalling was the belief that being a flip-flopper was just as bad as misleading the public to a war which has killed thousands, and laid waste to a country. Come on. Sorry I've gotten off topic.

2. The Bad Gets Good, Which Then Gets Worse:
If Kerry pulls out Ohio/Nevada and wins this crapshoot, it may not be a good thing (other than the Supreme Court dealy, which is a real shame). Kerry will be going in with no clear mandate, against a hostile Congress and Senate. Hard obstacles to begin with, but he is also saddled with debt that will come due in his term, and a vastly overtaxed military in an unwinnable war, with the opinion of the world resting on his actions. I don't think he can do it. In some ways it's almost better to let Team Bush live with the crap-storm they've created, because Kerry will be thought of as an ineffective (and thus 1-term) president, and then it will be back to the Republicans. Hmm maybe Jeb will be ready for his shot by then.

3. The Bad Gets Weird:
So it's a tie. 269-269, now it's down to Congress to vote in the next president. Who'd a thunk it? Back to back elections where the president wins on a technicality. This is democracy? But wait, it's not so simple. This scenario I pulled from one of the networks and I thought it had some merit (in a 'what-if' kinda way). Let's say it's a tie, but Kerry somehow picks up the popular vote again (a la 2000), there is a chance that some republican congressmen will not vote strictly on party lines if their jurisdictions went to Kerry....but that's not going to happen, the bigger outfall of this scenario is that Team Bush will be even more discredited in the international scheme because he "won" neither election (according to the standard of every other election but one). I almost want to see this happen because it would prove yet again, how busted our current system of voting is. Why does every county have the right to make up its own rules? WTF?

But frankly all this is obsessing over details and doesn't really address the deeper issue: How could this have happened in the first place? And by 'this' I mean the increasingly conservative, Christian value-laden, capitalistic, jingoistic shift of politics in this country. What happened to separation of church and state? Where are the atheists? Why isn't that amendment fought for as bitterly as the right to bear arms? This is increasingly irrelevant in modern times, whereas the protection from Religious zealotry has been needed throughout history. Where are all the liberals? Where is labor? Where are the poor, disenfranchised, wage-slaves? Where are the millions without health-care? Or the poor bastards who lost everything in the spate of Enron-esque scandals? Or the soldiers and families who seen their children/friends/siblings/parents wounded or killed for a war that wasn't necessary? Or those same people who've had their benefits cut and their equipment budgets gutted? Where is the freaking free press?

I've always said that in a democracy we get the government we deserve. Why have we been so bad to get this? How can we make it better?

Next time....